On November 26, Cumberland County District Attorney Seán M. McCormack announced the arrests of 22 individuals following recent human trafficking stings across the county. The stings were conducted pursuant to Cumberland County’s OPERATION: Closed2Trafficking and Impact Demand. District Attorney McCormack said he expects more arrests to follow.
As discussed previously, OPERATION: Closed2Trafficking specifically targets illicit Asian massage businesses and the sex buyers who patronize them across south-central Pennsylvania. Following a months-long investigation, on November 6, Cumberland County’s Human Trafficking Task Force executed a search warrant at GL Massage following a tip given to police concerning a “rotating cast of Asian women” supposedly working and living at there.
At least one individual was arrested and charged with prostitution. Also arrested was Stephen Melton, 65, a Cumberland County pastor accused of paying for sex acts at least 68 times in 5 months at GL Massage Spa. When questioned, Melton allegedly admitted to paying for sex acts, explaining the parlor was “conveniently located” between his home and the church. As a result, Melton now faces one charge of patronizing a victim of human trafficking and one charge of patronizing prostitutes.
According to Cumberland County police, the GL Massage sting prompted investigators to look into another Carlisle massage business, Li’s Asian Massage, also known as New Asian Spa. Investigators claim one of the employees at GL Massage disclosed that she previously worked at Li’s, and alleged that the owner, Chuanxia Wang, directed her and other employees to engage in sexual activities with customers for payments. According to reports, while searching GL Massage, investigators found a license on the wall for Wang.
With this information, police began investigating Li’s by interviewing customers and diving into websites that featured customer reviews of massage parlors. Police report they found at least two review posts in which customers described getting sexual favors from female workers after paying an additional tip. When asked, several customers admitted to police that they received and paid for sexual services at Li’s, identifying Wang and two other women as the providers of those services.
On November 19, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Li’s. Wang, 65, of Newport, was arrested and charged with trafficking in individuals, promoting prostitution, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, and corrupt organization.
Wang maintains her innocence and points to the signs posted in her business that state “no erotic services.” According to Wang’s attorney, Wendy Chan, Wang feels victimized by her employees and claims that her employees went “rogue.”
Also arrested at Li’s were two female employees, each charged with prostitution.
In addition to these Closed2Trafficking stings, Cumberland County’s Human Trafficking Task Force also continued operations known as Impact Demand, resulting in the arrests of several more individuals.
Pursuant to Impact Demand, the Task Force conducted two undercover prostitution details. The first, Impact Demand 8, was conducted on October 23 and resulted in the arrests of 6 alleged sex buyers. As part of that detail, the following individuals were arrested and each charged with patronizing prostitutes: Naeem Ahmad, 33, of Camp Hill; Michael Cassel, 32, of Carlisle; James Williams, 53, of Millersburg; Frantz Alteus, 50, of Dickson City; Jeremy Herman, 54, of Mechanicsburg; and David Wholaver, 56, of Plain City, OH.
The second, Impact Demand 9, was conducted on November 8 and resulted in the arrests of 13 alleged sex buyers. In connection to that detail, the following individuals were arrested and each charged with patronizing prostitutes: Travis Walters, 29, of Turbotville; Donald Miller, 57, of Dover; Jeffrey Nguyen, 34, of Harrisburg; Jason Martin, 42, of South Fork; Matthew Peterson, 43, of Danville; Joseph Biddle, 54, of Tyrone; Robert Campbell, 38, of Harrisburg; Christopher Striker, 34, of Lancaster; Timothy Bricker, 62, of Mechanicsburg; Juan Perez, 36, of Lansdale; and Ravi Bastola, 40, of Mechanicsburg. Sebastian Klinger, 32, of Bellefonte and Robert Kraft, 33, of Millerstown were also arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance.
The CSE Institute applauds Cumberland County’s concerted efforts to reduce commercial sexual exploitation in our Commonwealth by targeting the driving force of the sex trade: the demand. “The fuel that feeds human trafficking is the money customers pay for commercial sex. Operation Impact Demand is designed to curtail the supply of money going into the pockets of human traffickers,” said District Attorney McCormack. One way to do this is by targeting illicit massage parlors, like what Cumberland County does in OPERATION: Closed2Trafficking.
Illicit massage parlors are common throughout Pennsylvania and provide a venue for commercial sexual exploitation. Victims in these businesses are promised work opportunities and a better quality of life, but then are trapped in a cycle of cultural manipulation, fraud, and coercion. The complex vulnerabilities associated with race, ethnicity, immigration, and class often prevent victims of exploitation from immediately self-identifying as trafficking victims to law enforcement or service providers. For more information on the issues that illicit massage businesses pose and our proposed solutions, see our 2024 Annual Report.
While we are pleased to see Cumberland County target these venues, it is disappointing that several individuals were charged with prostitution. We believe it is imperative that law enforcement understand the connection between prostitution and other forms of commercial sex and human trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. Persons in prostitution should not be arrested during investigations or charged with crimes that result from their victimization. Instead, we encourage law enforcement to focus their efforts on the demand.
The CSE Institute commends the efforts of the Cumberland County Trafficking Task Force, District Attorney McCormack, and investigators on their widespread efforts to collaboratively target sex buyers. District Attorney McCormack reported that 85 individuals have been arrested since the commencement of Impact Demand, and we encourage Cumberland County to continue in these efforts. For more information on the incredible work done by District Attorney McCormack, see our 2024 Annual Report.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as this matter unfolds.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.